 JAPAN DAILY NEWSPAPER **JUNE 13 2007**Man allegedly swallowed 1 kg of heroin
The ASAHI Shimbun
SAITAMA--A 32-year-old Nigerian man has been arrested on suspicion of possessing one kilogram of a drug believed to be heroin that he swallowed in plastic bags, in violation of the Narcotic Control Law, it was learned Thursday.
The police suspect the man, who lives in Iruma, Saitama Prefecture, is a member of a drug-smuggling ring and are investigating how he obtained the drug.
According to the police, the man, an exporter of automobile parts, swallowed a total of one kilogram of the drug, which was divided into about 70 polyethylene bags, in late April. The street price of one kilogram of heroin is more than 50 million yen.
He complained of feeling unwell soon after returning home from overseas around that time, and he was taken to a hospital in Sayama in the prefecture.
As foreign objects were detected in his stomach during an examination, a doctor conducted abdominal surgery and removed the packets from his stomach and intestine. Each packet was wrapped in adhesive tape and contained about 15 grams of white powder.
The police said the man was going to recover the packets after defecating. His Japanese wife reportedly told the police the man had stayed in the toilet for a long time after returning home from overseas before. The police suspect the man brought drugs into Japan using the same method on previous occasions.
If the heroin had leaked from the packets into his body, the man could have died, the police said.
(Jun. 13, 2007) | 
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